14 hazardous substances added to UN-backed treaty on pesticides

Fourteen new hazardous chemicals and pesticides have been added to an initial watch list of 27 substances subject to a United Nations-backed treaty aimed at helping developing countries more effectively manage the dangerous materials.

The move was agreed to yesterday in Geneva at this week’s ministerial conference of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.

The Convention, which gained the force of law this February, prevents shipment of the pesticides and chemicals – many of them linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems – into developing nations unless these nations have explicitly agreed to their import.

It also enables Member States to alert each other to possible risks. Whenever a government anywhere in the world bans or restricts a chemical for health or environmental reasons, this is reported to all member countries.

“By increasing the number of hazardous chemicals and pesticides that require prior informed consent before being exported by almost 50 per cent, Governments have given the Rotterdam Convention an enthusiastic vote of confidence,” said Assistant Director-General Louise Fresco of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which, together with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), provides the Convention’s secretariat.

The conference, which ended today, was to have also established a Chemical Review Committee to assess future proposals to add new chemicals and pesticides to the PIC list, as well as finalize agreements on a technical assistance strategy, a budget, non-compliance procedures and other systems and processes to strengthen the treaty’s day-to-day operations.